Track construction



March 5, 1929.

H. A. PETTERSON TRACK CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 25, 1926 IF 'IEE II 5 sheets sheet 1 illllllllh FIE E IN V E N T00 flare/ 1 A Pe/fersorz A, l TTIMIEYB 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1:" I. c; E

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H. A. PETTE RSON I TRACK CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 23, 1926 P IE-4..

March 5, 1929.

FIE E mmvron Harald A a) son" -March 5, 1929. PETTERSQN 1,704,545

- TRAICKV CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 25, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V E N TOR Harald/1 -Pefferson ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 5, 1929.

our s TEs HAROLD A. IPE'ITERSON, or rlnnrsrn, CHINA.

TRACK consrnucrion.

Application filed December 23, 1926. -Seria1 No. 156,556.

This invention relates generally to a track construction suitable for steam or electric railroads.

In the past railroad tracks have been con- 5 structed of a plurality of transverse timbers or crossties to which the rails are secured,

the ties being embedded in a suitable ballast such as crushed rock. The life of such a track is relatively short and frequent repairs and renewals are necessary, since the ties are subject to rapid deterioration. F urthermore, the ties tend to settle unevenly due to their relatively small bearing surface on the ballast, thus requiring frequent tamping of the ballast under each tie to maintain them at the desiredgrade.

It is an object of this invention to devise a support for track rails which will be practically permanent and will provide a relatively large bearing area to prevent uneven settling. I

It is a further object of this invention to devise a track construction which will provide a continuous support for the rails.

It is another object'of this invention to provide a novel manner of mounting timber members upon a concrete structure tosupport the rails of a track whereby they are securely retained in place and deterioration of the timber is minimized.

' Further objects of this invention will appear from the following description in which I have set forththe preferred embodiment of my invention. It is to be understood that the invention is to be accorded-a range of mechanical equivalents consistent with the prior art. I

Referring to the drawings: a Figure 1 is a plan view of track sectio 40 illustrating one. embodiment of this invention.

Fig. 2 isa cross sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.- Fig. 3 is a cross sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4: is a plan view showing one half of the concrete slab and illustrating one manner of providing for the drainage of water.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4:.

Fig. 6 is a transverse cross sectional detail taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 and illustrating one convenient manner in which the 5 timber and rails may be secured to the concrete structure.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention in which the concrete structure is in the form of a grid. 7

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of Fig. 7

the line 9-9 of Fig. 7.

The invention comprises generally a plu rality of concrete structures providing a relatively large bearing area and to which are securedlongitudinal timber members. The timber members are spaced apart laterally a distance between centers substantially equal to the distance between centers of the Fig. 9 is across sectional view taken along It is proposed to make the con- Thus referring tofthe drawings there is shown a plurality of concrete structures in the form of contiguous concrete slabs 10 which are adapted to be disposed upon a suitable ballast 11, as for example a layer of crushed rock. Each slab is suitably reinforced'as by means of a plurality of transverse reinforcing rods 12' and 13 and longitudinal reinforcing rods 14. The concrete may either be cast or molded in situ upon the ballast 11 or it may be made in the form of a precast unit and then assembled with the track. The premolded units may be cast at any convenient place and subsequently,

after being properly cured, they may be moved to the site of the proposed track and positioned upon a suitably prepared road bed.

Instead of mounting the rails 15 of the track directly upon the concrete slabsI have provided longitudinal timber member 16 which have their" centers spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the rail centers. The rails 15 are secured to the timbers by suitable means such as spikes, screws or clamping devices 17 ,and the timber members are fastened to the concrete slab by suitable means such as bolts 18, having. their lower ends embedded concrete slabs provides a certain amount of elasticity, this track construction will be able to withstand the shocks and impacts received by the rails.

In order to provlde means for positioning the adhesive filler between the adj acentfaces of the concrete slab and the longitudinal timber members, the upper surface is provided withlongitudinal grooves or shallow troughs 1 .20 which are adapted to underlie the timber members 16. After the timber members have been bolted in place, these grooves are filled with a suitable adhesive filler such as liquid tar, asphalt, or any other substance having waterproof qualities which will adi here to both the concrete and. the timbers.

This substance is preferably poured into the .trough in liquid form through holes provided for this purpose in the timber members.

-- This substance not only serves to more se- ,curely fasten the timber members upon the concrete but also serves to prevent decay of the lower side of the timber members since the entrance of moisture or fungi between the timber and concrete is thereby prevented.

. The upper surface of theconcrete slab is formed to provide for the drainage of water, as by molding the slab with longitudinally. extending troughs 22, these troughs :2; being preferably sloped downwardly toward the ends of the slab. as shown in Fig. 1 so that water will'be drained'into the. space between adjacent slabs. In some. instances the ballast 11 may be dispensed with alv though in such case provision must be made forthe drainage of water off the sides of the slab. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 4 in which the longitudinal drainage troughs 23 are sloped toward their centers and communicate with passageways 24 ex.-

tending to the edges of the slab.

I In the modification of the invention shown in Figs. 7 to 9 inclusive the concrete structures are in the form of grids rather than solid concrete slabs. Each grid is formed of a pair of longitudinal beam members 26 having their centers spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the rail centers and being connected by a plurality of transverse beam members 27.

The bottoms of both longitudinal and transverse beams lie in 'a common plane which forms a relatively large bearing area on the ticular form of metal reinforcement is not.

essential although in the drawings I have shown the use of transverse metal bars, 28

and 29 and longitudinal reinforcing bars 80, which in practice are tied or wired to the reinforcing bars 28. Where the grid is premolded the reinforcing bars 28 may be formed as continuous bars extending the entire width. of the grid. The troughs 20 in this case are provided along the upper face of longitudinal beam members 26 and the timber members are bolted in position overlying the troughs as explained with respect to the modification shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive. In order to secure proper drainage some formof ballast should be employed with this kind of grid construction, although this .ballast need not be more than say 6 inches deep beneath thebottom of the grid.

Concrete slabs or grids such as described above have practically. no deterioration The timber will probably. last for about twenty-five years if of good quality, and may be renewed as desired. Because the forces .onthe. track are distributed over a large area of the roadbed, no difficulty will be eX- perienced from settling of the slabs or grids.

' I claim:

1. A'railroad track construction comprising a plurality of reinforced concrete grids adapted to rest upon a road ballast, each grid comprising a pair of spaced longitudinal beams interconnected by a plurality of spaced transverse beams, spaced longitudinal timber members continuously supported by said longitudinal beams, and an adhesive substance interposed between the timber members andthe concrete.

2. A railroad track construction comprising a plurality of contiguous grids of reinforced concrete adapted to rest upon a road ballast, each grid havingapair ofspaced longitudinal beams and a plurality of spaced transverse beams formed integral with the longitudinal beams, the upper surface of the grid being provided withlongitudinally extending troughs extending along the longitudinal beams, spaced longitudinal timber members continuously supported by said grids and overlying said troughs, and an adhesive filler in said troughs.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

HAROLD A. PETTERSON. 

